Tuesday, November 3, 2015

What to Expect in a G&G Minicon

Masyaders kami maaga. 10am pa lang andun na kami. haha
It's been part of our monthly routine to go to the gaming seminars (my girlfriend and I are organizers after all) and we saw how it grew from a 25-people seminar to this mini-con with around 50 heads. It's great to be a part of this, plus we get lots of experiences and knowledge from the veteran GMs. Yay!

So to those who still haven't been to the G&G Mini-cons, and don't know what to expect, here's a post I made (with pictures!) to help you. The pictures here are from the last event, Horroctober!

As soon as you get to the 2nd floor, this is what you'll most likely see. Rachel and Erich on the 'reception' area we put up, handling registrations and payments (because we have to pay the rooms yo! haha). You also get a name tag with a d20 stamp! Yay!
Registration is usually packed.
Thanks to Rachel and Erich for their level 20 Patience!
On the walls and the table, you'd see a bunch of posters and papers. They're their to guide you where is where, what the games are, who's talking, what's up nex and we also put in a 'Looking for Adventurers' wall where you can put up your games and look for players! Yay!

           

You write your personal info & game info
and stick 'em here
See what games are available, who's running, and how many slots are left.
After registering, you go inside Makati B&B. Take a gander at the great miniature terrains for wargaming, or the wide array of board games! Man, it feels great to be surrounded by geekdom. Ha!
A very familiar scene to early comers.
After socializing with your geek friends, talking about how your rogue snatched that gem from a monster or how your brooding vampire successfully brooded about broody matters, and things like that, the room starts filling up. The talks usually goes first and the games start at 3:00PM. The talks are almost a guarantee to be fun and comedic, and isn't strictly a talk where you have to be quiet all the time. Audience participation is welcome, and the speakers usually let the audience tell a funny experience or something. A very warm atmosphere, even to beginners.

The talks are followed by the open tables. They're held in Languages Internationale, a language center conveniently managed by a G&G organizer (we didn't conspire, we promise! It all just fell into place!). And more convenient, it's just located across the floor in the Languages building! HA! BEAT THAT FOR TRAVEL!

Some of the games are for walk-ins while some might have pre-registration. It's always best to pre-register online to make sure you can play. If you register late and have found out that there's no games available (or you just want to chill and hang around), Tobie's games are usually the spectacle of the Makati B&B room. 
Treat yourself with intense roleplaying, exciting scenarios, and Tobie's exemplary GMing skills.
He ran dread on Horroctober, with my bro Aldrin pulling a block from the Jenga tower
Tobie's seasonings for his game

Tension-inducing! Grabe!
Mira's character has a pet cockroach. A big one!

You get +2 to your rolls if you see Jay GMing
with his kid strapped onto him.


You'll also see some serious 'roleplaying-as-a-cat' action
After the games, people like to hang out around the area, talk to GMs and other geek-friends. This is also the best time to talk to the GMs, maybe ask them for tips & tricks or whatever. Use this opportunity to find games! Start your own campaign!

That's about it folks! Now you know what to expect in a G&G Minicon! See you there next time!


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Kuripot Gamer has Dungeon World!

I was first exposed to Dungeon World when Nosfecatu gift'ed me the PDF last Christmas. Before that I wasn't really interested in Dungeon World since I had Tombs & Terrors and it kept me okay. After a simple prod by Beej and thinking 'ah what the fuck, I need to expand anyway', I read it.

And so I did, and lo and behold! I am enamored by its beauty and elegance! It's simplicity! plus the fact that I can go crazy wonky with it! Hurrah! With its rules-lite & narrative approach, it's the best high fantasy game for me.

Only thing is, it's in PDF. I had it printed but because of some binding issue, I wasn't able to get a colored cover version, so I have a foldered version lying around my house. Enter Abubot, with Dungeon World in softcover form in tow. I had to get it. I knew I had to get it. So after scrounging the cash (which is a feat to do, by the way) I was able to and I absolutely love it. Here it is in its full glory.
Oh yes. No point in this blogpost, I'm only bragging.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Campaigning for Newbs- a realization by the Kuripot Gamer

I'm very, very unorthodox when it comes to gaming. I'm that annoying player who does craaaazy shit that might endanger everyone. As a GM, I'm even more splattered. I don't plan- wait I do, and throw it away the last moment and go wingman. I was never really comfortable with a laid out plan in my games. While this is cool with Dungeon World, I don't want to be limited to *only* Dungeon World.

Last Sunday (STARTER SEPTEMBER!) was a greatly missed opportunity, yet not quite so (because I was playing under PhilGamer!). Mon had a talk about campaigning for newbs but I was too busy battling Duran-duran (FUCK YOU), so I missed it. However, I was able to play under him after the game with Jay and may heaven and hell clash, but it was a gosh darned educational experience.

We played traditional D&D and would you have guessed, it's my 1st time playing traditional D&D.
Nothing smells like trouble more than a Drow rogue
The most I've played under are with the likes of Tobie and BJ (Nosfecatu) so I play the stranger kind of RPGs (Swords & Bahag D&D, weird ass Alice in Wonderland stuff, and basically any Tobie game is a different kind of game). Mon's take on this game was straight forward, it's for beginners after all. Though the target is beginners, it wasn't some dumbed down version of the game, it respected our intelligence and gave us enough freedom while still adhering to the rules. There were 3 newbs to D&D (me included) in our party of 5, and it made up for one hell of a time. I played a Drow rogue (with +3 Cha!) who's a member of the Zhentarim and I had a lot of fun playing him. Strangely though, I was rolling monumentally high (15-20s) during roleplaying (BLACK MAN EVIL! BLACK MAN GOOD!) but when combat came in, I fucking rolled THREE crit fails in a row. How is that even possible? Anyway, the game itself was nice. The story was tight as hell, like watching a good story unfold and feeling like you're responsible for it. All thanks to Mon's story telling.

But let's go to my realization. DM Mon cut the game into 4 scenarios, two RPing scenarios and two combat scenarios. We didn't feel the switching from one scenario to the other though- even if he actively mentions it. I guess because it's the pacing. But this simple bit is VERY useful for cray-cray people and starting Gms. Here's how it essentially went (or at least in my mind)

Scenario 1 (Roleplaying)
Goal: Orient Players to the world
- Meet Mayor
- Introduce to quest-giver
- Moral dilemma with quest-giver (this one's a really good jab. I won't reveal it since Mon might use it again *wink*)
- Optional quest hook/ side quest
- Receive quest

Scenario 2 (Roleplaying)
Goal: Go to Side Quest Giver
- Role play

Scenario 3 (Combat)
Goal: To enter the Temple
- Clear the area and enter the templ

Scenario 4 (Combat)
Goal: To defeat the boss
- Kill the boss
- Retrieve magic item
- Clear quest

This simple bulleting actually works, if you add in the simple "DC12 perception for child peeking from the corner" or any of your shorthand for moments in the game where there's a planned roll then you basically have a session. This is very similar to Dungeon World's fronts while not being so vague and unclear that even imaginative people (like me- hey! I'm imaginative!) have trouble. This bulleting gives you lots of space to play with while still having structure. You can let the players roam and play around because you know the world, but still have an agenda for them to accomplish. This is very simple, and basic, but without this realization on how to effectively use a bullet-style campaign, I'd be in shit water still. Right now, I'm thinking up ideas for future sessions using this style and it's a lot easier. It used to be a mind-racking juiced creativity session but hey, thanks to Mon's experienced range and simplified technique I *might* have a pretty structured session ahead of me.

Oh yeah, sweet sweet victory.

p.s. my Zhentarim Drow rogue got what he wanted and vanished in the shadows. Oooh yeaaah.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

August Dungeons and Dragons

8 months. That's how long it took Gamers & GMs (unnamed for the first few months) to arrive to this. First came a handful of seminars with the goal to train GMs- turned out a success. RPGers flock each seminar, eager for knowledge and laughs over geeky stuff. But they wanted more. They wanted open tables. So we delivered, last month we had a 4 open tables (check out the video summary below). It was a dry run of things to come, a test to see if we can handle it. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the GMs behind G&G (who, I'd like to thank because almost everything needed for the event comes out of them voluntarily- be it financial or by deed), the even was a success and people asked for more.


I remember late last year, Marc and a couple of others are talking about how we can increase activity in the local community. Brains stormed and ideas were formed- we needed a seminar to 'train' GMs. We hoped we won't crash and burn. Come January, we had our first gaming seminar (then still called GM Seminars). We weren't expecting a lot of people, but lo and behold, we had a room of more than 20+! People from the edges of NCR (and someone from as far as Batangas even came!) visited, new friendships were formed, eyes were opened, and a tight knit community that lied low for a while suddenly had a resurgence.

I'm pretty proud to say that today is a good day to be a Filipino RPGer. Especially for newbies. Given the right scheduling, you can most likely game with an experienced GM. There's a growing number of RPG suppliers (check out my dice hunting guide here), RPG books are appearing on Power Book shelves, and you have a monthly Gaming Seminar to attend.

But enough of that 'whoo, we made it!' feel. What I'm here for is August D&D! The gang decided to pay tribute to the Granddaddy of Them All, Dungeons & Dragons! We're hosting a Dungeons & Dragons month, with two talks: Marc's gonna give a D&D 101 for the new blood, and BJ's gonna talk about kit-bashing D&D to make it YOUR D&D. And of course, we have our main course (hehe. I used 'course' twice): 6 OPEN TABLES! YEEEAAAHHH BOY! There's gonna be a wide variety of D&D to try so make sure you attend this August 30.


On a personal note, I'd like to thank the GMs behind this. No one asked for you guys to do this but you put it on yourselves to do it- and you did it with flying colors. I'm honored to be a friend of yours. Here's to more games (and a convention *wink*)!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER IS SELLING HIS STASH [SOLD]

ANNOUNCEMENT: AS OF JULY 30, EVERYTHING IS SOLD

Through my kuripot-ness I've amassed a small collection of RPGstuffs. They made me happy for a while, but there are pressing things in the moment that I need to notice. So I've decided to sell my stuff that I don't really use since I'm in a bit of a financial rut. Better to make use of them than let them sit still right?

Legend of Drizzt & Castle Ravenloft Minis (sold)

I'm selling these, and not the whole boxed set because I like the tiles. Useful for dungeon crawls and just throwing your players to wherever you need them.
Condition: Good, rarely used. Total number of minis: 82
Price: PHP2000

 List of Minis:
Balor
Dracolich
Shadow Dragon
Zombie Dragon
Drider
Flesh Golem                  
Werewolf
Yochlol                
Illithid
Drow Warlock
Old Hag
Strahd
Yvonnel Baenre  
Kobold Sorcerer
Jarlaxle                
Artemis Entreri
Catti-brie
Wulfgar
Drizzt
Regis
Bruenor
Athrogate
Guenhyvar
Dwarf Cleric
Human Ranger
Eladrin Wizard
Dragonborn Fighter
Human Rogue
2 Feral Troll
7 Goblins
3 Drow Swordsman
3 Gargoyle
3 Skeleton Warrior
3 Zombie
3 Ghoul
3 Water Elemental
3 Flaming Skeleton
3 Wraith
3 Hypnotic Spirit
3 Kobold
3 Spider
3 Wolf
3 Rat Swarm
3 Spider Swarm
3 Running Drake

Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn Box Set

Check out the contents here.
Condition: Good, never used. The counters are popped but they're in a ziplock bag. Price: PHP1500

Star Frontiers: Knight Hawks Box Set

Condition: Great, counters unpopped. Price: PHP1500

Castle Falkensten, Comme Il Faut, Steam Age [SOLD]

Condition: Great, no pages missing. Price: PHP1000 for Rulebook,
PHP5000 for Steam Age
PHP5000 for Comme il Faut.

You can message me through my facebook account or email: [fabsbulwayen@gmail.com]. Thanks!









Friday, July 17, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER: G&G GAMING SEMINAR AND OPEN TABLE

Long time no see! After getting busy with real life, we arrive here again, in the Kuripot Gamer's domain.

A lot has changed since I last posted, for one the group that's organizing the hardcore gaming seminar is now a named group, not some unnamed entity who creepily organizes stuff. Yay!Check it out, we're Gamers & GMs! How's that for a name eh? Anyway, thanks to these guys, today is a good day to be a Filipino gamer in the Philippines.

Why you ask?

Because after all those months of seminars, we're finally here. Where is here? Well, we had a successful Gaming Seminar run so now we finally have a gaming seminar... with open tables! YES! YES! YES!

The moment you've aaaalll been waiting for is here! You now have a chance to play with the best GMs in the country, learn from them and watch hardcore roleplaying action (not that kind of hardcore roleplaying).

It's on July 26 (a Sunday) at the
very trusty Makati B&B and Languages Internationale. It will feature tons of hygienic geeks, laughter, condoning 1s and celebrating 20s, RPG seminars and of course, games by hardcore GMs, namely...

TOBIUS ABADUS, MONZAR McCUTAY, MARKUS REDREYES, JEI-ZZTI BEN AN YONG (Included in the actual portrait is his son)!!!
*Actual Photo
So be there! July 26! We're getting closer and closer to the big bad... a convention. So let's support this one, thank the guys who voluntarily organized this event (and shelled from their own pockets, I must add) and be there! Let them feel our presence! Our energy ball! Our love!

Official event info for details

What: The Makati Gaming Seminar by G&G Philippines
Where: Makati B&B / Languages Internationale
When: July 26, 2015 12nn-6:00pm:
Participation Fee: 170 PHP
SEMINARS: (At Makati B&B Main Room. Time TBD)
A Glimpse and A Taste Indie Games You Might Want To Try - by Tobie Abad.
Learn about Lacuna Part I. The Creation of the Mystery and the Girl from Blue City, Houses of the Blooded: Blood and Honor, Bliss Stage, Apocalypse World and Wield. And one of these games will be run on the day itself too!
Open Gaming Workshop - By Justin Aquino
3 other Gamers and myself with go through some Role-Playing or Improvisational and Public Speaking challenges in a workshop style method. Everyone else can watch, and we go through various exercises that improve our RPing and Playing off of each other.
OPEN GAMES: (To be held at the Languages Internationale Rooms)
1. Steven Universe RPG using the Cypher System - GM: Jay Anyong
2. Apotheosis Drive X - Science fiction giant robot war drama, primarily inspired by the Gundam 00 and Gundam Wing anime series using Fate Core. GM: Marc Reyes
3. GASTRONAUTS! - Fast, light, wacky food fighting galaxy saving heroes. System: Fate Core. GM: Mon Macutay.
4. A Glimpse and a Taste - For the first time in the Gaming Seminars, Tobie will actually run a game that he presented in the seminar! System: Depends on which game is chosen. GM: Tobie Abad

Pic Sources:
http://sandara.deviantart.com/art/ursine-warrior-and-cub-296694174
http://www.eteknix.com/paradox-declares-war-on-gamescom/
Elder Scrolls Online

Monday, May 11, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER TO THE GAMING SEMINAR!


KAMUSTA! Kuripot Gamer, at your service. If you've been around the local TRPG scene for the past few months, you've probably caught wind of the GM Seminar (it's a good kind of wind). It's been met with awesome success, a lot of people came and had a hardcore time.

I've met new people, made new friends, learned hardcore GMing techniques, and even talked about my game at one seminar! Yeaaah. Talk about experience- when I first started my blog, there was little community activity. The most you'd get is a sporadic 'Looking for Group' post. But now, we have this. A community that's actively putting up open tables, open to questions and accommodating to newbs, holding a gathering for gamers monthly- it feels good to be a part of this community.

And with that, let me invite you to the Gaming Seminar on May 31st in Makati B&B! Yep! The Kuripot Gamer will be there chilling with the peeps! There's a 100PHP entrance fee (because we don't own the place. haha). It's gonna be fun: lots of gamers, lots of laughter, and there's even prizes- SURPRISES AT THAT (Sur-prize. hehe).

SAMA NA!

p.s. I am now the official FAQ (Pronounced as fak-yu) Guy of the Gaming Seminars so feel free to shoot me a question. Just post 'em in the comments.

p.p.s. check this FB event page to follow it: Gaming Seminar Event Page

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER: Fab's PoB (Print on Budget)

Yeeeah boy! Matapos ang maraming linggo ng pahinga at pagkawal ng Kuripot Gamer... siya ay nagbabalik!

Ng may pasabog! EXPLOSIONS! BOOOOM!

*Ahem*

So nagpakita na ako ng tatlong paraan para magkaroon ng TRPG books sa Pinas. Booklet, PocketMod, at Book Bind. Pero mayroong isa pang paraan na kailangan mong tumahak ng bundok at ilog upang makamit... 'de joke lang. Commute ka lang (or ride your car) papuntang UP Diliman or kahit anong lugar na nagooffer ng 'Colored Cover printing'.

Oo mga kaibigan, maaari mo nang i-print ang cover ng iyong paboritong RPG book, hardbound man o softbound. At eto pa; yung default size pa ang masusunod! Kung a5 size ang orihinal na libro, maaari mo rin itong ipa-print ng a5 size! Walang labis, walang kulang!

Tignan ang aking mga pinagawa. Isang hardbound at isang softbound.

Hardbound
Di ako mahilig sa samurai stuff pero niregalo ni Tobie yung
pdf nito sa akin at nung binasa ko... ABA'Y HARDCORE!
Softbound
Don't judge me! Kasalanan ko kung bakit may pilat yung plastic... hehe.
Nangati ako hilahin yung plastic sheeting niya para maging glossy. It's my fault ya'll, maganda talaga to pagkaprint.
Eh Fabs, kamusta naman kalidad niyan?

Aba'y kung kalidad lang ang usapan ay ayus din. Matibay ang pagkakabind at maganda ang cover. Tignan mo Blood & Honor book ko:
Ganda ng front cover no?

It  looks like the real deal men

Flyleaf... parang pangalan ng emo na banda
Ang bind na gamit nila para sa hardbound ay ang karaniwang bind na makikita mo sa mga hardbound books tulad ng encyclopedia, dictionary, o Bible. Mayroon 'flyleaf' o yung blankong una at huling pahina ng libro na nagdidikit ng cover sa mga nilalaman.

Maganda naman lahat-lahat ang libro, masarap tignan at masarap hawakan. Para ka na ring bumili talaga ng libro mula sa publishing house. Hahaha. Tignan pa ang ibang picture para makita ang ibang parte ng libro.

Sakto lang kapal. Yung yellow at red na string ay yung tahi na nagdidikit sa mga papel
Oo, nakasulat pa ang
title ng libro sa spine!
Magkanetchings naman?

Parehas lang ang presyo ng pagpaprint, madadagdagan lang ng 100PHP para sa hardbound colored cover, 90PHP Para sa soft cover. Ang nagastos ko para sa Blood & Honor (180 Pages, 270PHP ang printing) ay 370PHP, at 160PHP para sa Chicken Heroics (45 pages, 67.50PHP para sa printing).

Saan ka nga uli nagpa-print?

Sa mga print shop sa UP Diliman ako nagpaprint pero siguro sa ibang mga college-geared print shop mayroon din silang colored cover printing.

At ito lang para sa post na ito. Maiksi, ngunit malaman. Sana nakatulong ako sa pagbigay ng ibang paraan upang makamit ang napaka-bihirang RPG book. Maging astig kaibigan!




Dagdag na stuffS: softbound, colored cover

"You role play a knight... who's a chicken"
"You role play a wizard... who's a chicken"
Nangati ako pilasin yung plastic :/


Nakakatuwa art ng librong 'to pramis
Maaayos din ang pagkaprint.
















Tuesday, April 21, 2015

...

the fool fucks up
as expected
his apologies
all rejected

his anger
unreleased
his madness
he tries to ease

in the most important of dates
he tries to explode
in Sunstarer's
blue-green abode

He is wrong,
that is true
He is mistaken
it's nothing new

now he weeps
sadness seeps
He drowns himself
heart in a shelf

Thursday, March 12, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER: Free Dungeon Crawl Tiles! at Maps na rin

Masarap gumawa ng miniatures, terrains at kung ano-ano pa. Maraming nagsasabing hindi na ito kailangan sa paglalaro, tama nga naman. Pero iba pa rin ang pakiramdam ng mayroon: mas nabibigyan ka ng strategy (na isang paraan para matuwa), may visual hook para sa mga hindi sobrang imaginative (isa pa rin itong paraan para matuwa), at mas madaling i-visualize ang mga nangyayari (na paraan para matuwa at masihayan).

Isa pa, kapag dungeon crawl games ang pinaguusapan: the tiles and terrains make the shebang go bangbang. Munchkin powergaming to the 20th level. Damhin mo ang AoE. Ang added range. At... oo! Polymorph to giant type, tapos kaladkarin mo ang giant mini mo sa tiles! TAMAAN ANG MINIS NG IBA! NAGTATALSIKAN NA PLASTIC THINGAMAJIGS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ahem, ahem. Hmm.

Maraming mga posibleng paraan para gumawa ng sariling tiles (o maps) nang nakakatipid, heto ang aking mga ideya;

Tarpaulin Print
Para sa 45PHP-120PHP (Depende sa Kanto & Conyo level ng placelalu mo), maaari kang magprint sa 1ft x 1ft tarp, colored pa! Asteeeg diba! Maganda gawin to sa mga non-modular maps kasi nga dehins mo magagalaw.

Asteeeg no! Di lang pang-ID,
pang TRPG materials pa! Pic by Joey Flores
Isa pang idea: magpaparint ka ng hexes o grid sa tarp. Yun lang. Ikaw na bahala sa size. Gumamit ng wet erase marker o white board marker pag magsusulat dun. Mabubura yan, depende lang sa white board marker na gamit mo (Nagtratrabaho ako sa English learning center, marami kaming white board markers... at manlilinlang sila! White board marker daw eh hindi ko mabura! Manlilinlang! Matapos kong umasa... nilapastangan nila ang pagtitiwala ko!).

Joey Flores' (of D&DPhil) Idea:
>Bond paper. Grids. Laminate.
>Maraming bond paper. Lahat may grids. Lahat laminated.
>Profit?!
>Gawing pamaypay dahil summer na.




Make-Your-Own-Modular Tiles
Dehins ka mauubosan ng pang-TPK nito

Step 1: Magdownload ng modular tile chorva
Step 2: I-print sa cardstock/ short bond paper
Step 3: Gupitin ng naaayon sa size
Step 4: I-palaminate sa (un)friendly neighborhood overpriced school supplies store
Step 5: Ipagyabang sa iba mong nerdok na kaibigan
Step 6: Gawing shuriken dahil matulis ang dulo nito dahil sa laminate. Magpanggap na inosente kapag may natamaan sa mata.



FREE DOWNLOADABLE MAP-MAKING GALORE
Bali pag ipa-tarp mo ang ganito, may astig na pro-looking map ka na

Map-making tools
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse/pub/5371/Heroic-Maps?pto=0&pfrom=0
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/119487/Tile-Maker-20
http://projectzerogames.com/htmlpages/tilemaker.html
ULTIMATE FREE MAP MAKING TOOLS LINK:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?filters=0_2240_0_0_0&pfrom=0&pto=0
(I love you DTRPG!)

Magandang ipa-tarp
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse/pub/4491/DramaScape?pto=0&pfrom=0
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/137459/Battle-Maps-FANTASY-The-Homestead
(Sobrang ganda iprint sa tarp 'to. Mataas ang quality at maganda ang pagkagawa.)

Village & World para puwede ka gumawa ng sarili mong mapa!
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/113773/Hex-Tile-Maps--Village-and-Roads-Pack?manufacturers_id=5017

Yan ang aking tips sa hardcore pagkukuripot pero with pro-grade quality. Tandaan, hindi kailangan gumastos ng malaki, mamirata o kung ano pa man para makapaglaro ng TRPG. Imagination lang puwede na, o manila paper. Basta kung ano nagpapasaya sa grupo mo, dun kayo.

Abangan ang susunod na kuripot article!

Sunday, March 8, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER: GM Seminars to Gaming Chorva!!!

Kung sumama ka alam mo 'to.
Bihira lang ang mga TRPG convention sa 'Pinas. Bihira nga lang ang mga gamegroups eh. At lalong bihira lang ang GM Seminar.

Nung naisipan ni Marc na gumawa nito sabi niya; "Pare may hardcore idea ako! Gawa tayo ng GM Seminar!" (joke lang di yun ang actual words niya) aba'y wala na akong alinlangan pa! Nagalay ako ng tulong at whooo...

Nakakadalawang seminar na! Maraming salamat sa lahat ng pumunta!

Maraming mga nangyari na hinding-hindi ko malilimutan, mga tips at techniques na ipinamahagi ng mga beteranong GM/DM/ST. At walang makakalimot kay Gardo... oh Gardo...
Salamat kay BJ! Dahil sayo hindi pa nasisira ang record ko
na 'Nakakatikim ng Starbucks-JCO' nang hindi gumagastos.
KURIPOT GAMER WIN!
Hindi ako masyado magkukuwento ng nangyari, mas magandang maranasan mo na lang! ;) *Walang habas na pagyayaya*. Heto ang mga pictures na kinuha ni BJ at Rocky. At oo, speaker ako. Ha! Paniiis! Di nila alam player talaga ako, di GM. hahahehehe.

Sumama na sa susunod na GM Seminar... na magiging Gaming Meets na! ASTEEEG! WHOOOHOOO.

L5R's Social Dynamics. The way Jay puts it makes it applicable in other games too.
 Now I can make a game about Pinay chismosas. haha. Ooooh the social turmoil
Encounter designs for your d20, in case you don't want to TPK your friends. haha. BUT TPK IS GOOD, TPK IS GOD, TPK IS ... sadness
Narrative Control! Isang bagay na ginagawa ko ng di ko alam. hahahehe
Dahil puwede pa rin maging magkaibigan ang komunista't kapitalista
GO GO POWER RANGERS!
GO GREEN RANGER! GO BLUE RANGER!
GO GREY RANGER! GO PINK RANGER!
GO WHITE-BROWN-GREEN-GRAY RANGER!

Kung di ka nakapunta, wag mag alala! We take videos of the talks and upload them. Kung gusto mo yung topic pero di ka nakapunta, tignan mo dito para sa walang katapusang kaastigan. Hanggang sa susunod! PIS LAB EN PISBOL!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Heart-Hand

Cradling the heart in the middle of thorns
Walking in a minefield, the Young Fool mourns
Stepping on explosions, explosions at bay
Emotions exploding, exploding on delay

Patience is learned, the Young Fool said
the Young Fool knows, by patience he bled
His heart-hand bleeds, a smile on his face
His smile a sign of knowledge of her ways

The Sun shines, but not everyday
Everyday the sun, but sometimes dismay
And he knows this, for he is her lover
With a crying smile, he waits for whenever

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

KURIPOT GAMER: Buan Campaign Setting

As much as I love Hari Ragat, Hari Ragat is different & new. It's not Dungeons & Dragons in bahag. And that sort of saddens me. I always wanted my Pintado Mangangaso to kill a beholder.

Lo & behold, BJ of Nosfecatu answered my worries with Buan Campaign Setting for Dragons & Dungeons.

Manual support: lend them stuff. Yay!
The Raiding, Trading & Feasting isn't mine though,
it's Phil's. The rest are mine. (Pic by BJ)
Before anything else: you see, the Philippine TRPG community is small. I run around the community making friends here and there, and since I don't have money to pledge or back their projects I offer manual support: I lend books, playtest their games, play in their experimental games etc. I like it this way because: 1) I don't spend- because I have no money, 2) I get the creator's personal insight on their games, how they want it to be and what it becomes to me, and last 3) Playing in their games/ running their games gives us a real, friendly social interaction, not just on a 'business' level. The game becomes more human, and in the process becomes more light and friendly. AND that's why I know 'inside' stuff.

Buan is still young, BJ's still fleshing out many things but with what's available to view, Buan is starting out beautifully.

BJ reminds everyone that while the game is pre-Colonial Philippines inspired, it's still D&D. You have your D&D armor, weapons, spells and classes: they're definitely staying because the difference enters with D&D5e's backgrounds, bonds and the fluffy stuff. Haaa. See, change through fluff, not crunch. Smart move, BJ, smart move.

A Fluffy Kind of Crunch

Here we have two Level 19 Barbarians
With backgrounds like Lakan, Babaylan, and the background I'm all for: Batikan, the fluff is well served and how it enters the game is well placed. You can be any class you want and put a title over that class. A painted hunter famous for bringing down the baddest of the beasts? I did that. A rogue who's searching the land for arcane knowledge in hopes of becoming a babaylan- totes possible. A barbarian who leads his tribe to prosperity and abundance, too dramatic-y and Erap-y for my taste but yeah, it works. All thanks to D&D5e's background but personally I would've done that because that's how I roll anyway. Hahaha.

In Buan, the classes are treated as expertise, your line of skills. It's a part of a bigger picture, and part of the bigger picture is your background. Because of the setting of the game, you'll revert to your background more than your character class- if you're on a particularly good session (at least for me), you character class only functions in a) combat or b) obvious 'duh' situations.
Utang

A 7th Attribute? Before you get pissed with another 'failure modifier', check out how Utang works: it's a Filipino concept, Utang na Loob. Literally translated, it's 'debt of inside' or 'inside debt'- and it doesn't make much sense. Basically, Utang na Loob is if someone has done something good to you, you're expected to do something good to him back.

How does BJ gamify that? As a filler in for wealth. Instead of keeping track of your gold, your Utang score increases and instead of buying stuff from people with money, you roll d20+Utang mod vs target number to see if the merchant/ NPC will be willing to sell, trade, or lend whatever it is you need- it represents how famous your hero is, if he's done epic deeds in the past that benefited the people, he'll probably have a high utang score. So it's not just a replacement for gold tracking, it can also be an encouragement for more heroic and altruistic deeds (pwidi piro dipindi).

Though I'm getting ahead of myself (with this whole thing anyway, it's too early! Is layk aym nat Pilipino), BJ's about to change the name for this attribute to something else when he thinks of a good word.
DM: You enter a 10 ft x 10 ft forest glade, thick and lush trees surround you.
Suddenly, a gang of lean-bodied, heavily tattooed men with spears
and axes jump from the darkness and flank you. What do you do?

Player: I roll a new character
The Feel

It's definitely D&D. It runs on D&D anyway. Hahaha. Before you think that pre-Hispanic Philippines (the term pre-Hispanic Philippines is weird... but okay) crossing over to *culturally appropriated* game setting IS cultural appropriation, think of it this way: we're not debasing cultures, we're not wearing their clothes without knowledge of what they mean, we're encouraged to research, know, study their culture (out of interest mostly) for the game itself. To a certain extent it's appreciating the culture.

With that out of the way, bahag in D&D works. It definitely works. You can opt for a more swords & sorcery flavor or keep D&D as it is, but the main point is that Buan is a skin you can put on your D&D games to get a different flavor. D&D puts another flavor to your orcs, but they're orcs. And this is good. Because when you're tired of your standard western flavor but don't want to learn a new system, or just want to see the same creatures in different light (why not? Writers do it all the time!). While we only have a Tikbalang for now, additional races would give the game a more... Bahay Kubo feel but will definitely retain the D&D mood.

D&D in a dimly lit bahay kubo anyone?

Magic and Mysteries

The Philippines has a different take on magic, we don't have wizards and warlocks who can throw fireballs. We have witches that can curse and diwatas that can do whatever they want though; and this being a reskin of fluff rather than crunch, magic is treated as the Diwata's doing. That's it. It's still the Vancian (or as my D&D friends would correct me 'pseudo-Vancian), it's just that instead of saying 'I cast fireball!' you get to say 'I allow the Fire Diwatas to possess me momentarily to summon a fireball upon my hands!'. I dunno about you but the second one definitely sounds cooler.
You get to have a go at these guys! In bahag! Ha! Asteeeg!

What's On the Horizon

Ask BJ. Haha. No, since there's still no news of a 5e OGL, BJ is still contemplating what to do next. Currently, I'm pestering him to make a system generic campaign setting so our friends from Savage Worlds, GURPS, Fate, and what-have-you systems can have a go at this thing.

It's fun, it's small enough to be "modular", it's big enough to be significant. It's the perfect addition to your Westernized High Fantasy or the starting point if you ever want to play in a pre-colonial Philippine setting without diving to too much research (heh, magresearch ka pa rin parang awa mo na). HARDCORE!

If you want to check out some of BJ's stuff or want to add something to your 4e or Pathfinder games check this out.